


Leo and Calypso's Auto Repair and Mechanical Monsters

by Bellimoon



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Post-The Blood of Olympus, Post-The Heroes of Olympus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 20:23:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5305598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellimoon/pseuds/Bellimoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo and Calypso have started their auto shop. Leo really likes Calypso... a lot. Set after the Heroes of Olympus</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Imported from my FFN account under the same username  
> -Original: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/9770308/1/Leo-and-Calypso-s-Auto-Repair-and-Mechanical-Monsters  
> -Originally published: 10/16/13
> 
> Disclaimer: This was written 2 years ago (2 years. Woah), BEFORE the release of The Blood of Olympus. Not all details will align with canon! (Also my writing back then needed improvement, lmao).

Leo flipped the sign in the window from _Closed, Come Again!_ to _Open, Welcome!_  He did some last minute cleaning while Calypso, his co-owner (and potential girlfriend) watered the plants that decorated the exterior.

It was only two weeks since they opened shop, but they had great business. It was also a couple of months after he had rescued Calypso from Ogygia, the magic island on which she was imprisoned for a few thousand years. So yeah, I guess you can tell that Calypso is kinda immortal.

But that worried Leo. Calypso was the kind of girl he dreamed of, if he dreampt of girls. The problem was, she was  _so_  out of his leauge. Sure, they had shared a kiss once, and sure, gods had demigod kids with regular mortals, but he wanted to marry her (hey, a guy can dream) and grow old together. But Calypso  _couldn't_  grow old.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the very girl put her hand on his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat.

"Leo," she said. "Are those weapon repairs done?"

"Yeah." He nodded. They did stuff like chariot and weapon repairs for demigods, and some regular stuff for mortals.

"Good. Order Nine is getting picked up in an hour."

She squeezed his shoulder and walked away to hammer out a bent up shield. Leo's heart did a flip.

 _Gods_ , he thought.  _One of these days, my heart will completely stop!_

* * *

It was noon, and Leo  _really_  needed a shower. Calypso managed to get dirty but still smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke. In his opinion, there was  _nothing_  hotter than a girl who didn't mind getting her hands dirty.

Her long, straight, golden-brown hair was pulled back, a grease smudge under her dark almond-shaped eyes.

He didn't realise he was staring until she looked up and met his eyes. "Leo, you are bending the sword out of shape."

Leo looked down at his still working hands and saw that he indeed was bending a bronze sword backwards with his hammer. "Oops. Sorry."

He blushed and she shook her head, smiling.

"You know what?" Leo said. "It's time for lunch. Wanna go out and eat someplace?" Usually they ate food Calypso grew and cooked. It was really good, but he wanted to make some moves.

"Sure. Where to?"

"Uh," Leo fumbled. "Maybe that Italian place by the park?"

"Sounds nice. Let's go change."

They went up the back stairs to their above-shop home. When they came back down, Leo was wearing fresh jeans and a white shirt. Calypso was wearing one of her Greek-style dresses. She had her hair down and brushed, looking the same as when they had first met.

"You look really nice." Leo blurted. He quickly shut his mouth, embarrassed.

Calypso looked down, blushing, and hit Leo's arm. "Come on."

He flipped the welcome sign back to _closed_ and shut off the lights.

Leo held out his arm. "Come with me, m'lady."

Calypso smiled and took his arm.

 _One point for team Leo,_  he thought.

* * *

The food was great. He ordered the fettuccine alfredo and Calypso had a salad. Leo swirled the pasta with his fork. "So... do you like it?" He asked.

Calypso chewed a bite of lettuce. "Yes. It's good."

She reached across the table and wiped alfredo sauce off his face with a napkin. Whoops.

"What about your other friends?" Calypso asked,

Huh? "Oh, you mean Jason and Piper and the others!" They visited every so often to chat or ask for repairs. "You know, Jason and Piper are still together. Jason's an ambassador for both camps. Frank and Hazel are in school in New Rome, and Percy and Annabeth are counseling at Camp Half-Blood."

Calypso nodded. She ate some more of her salad.

Leo shifted in his seat. His foot touched Calypso's. He began to move it, but Calypso didn't seem to notice anything, so he left it there, touching her small foot. He felt strangely embarrassed about it.

What do you want to do after we close the shop for the day?" He ventured.

Calypso pondered, putting her chin on her hand. "I want to plant a new section of fruit in our garden."

Our  _garden_ , he thought.  _Just like_ our _home and_ our _shop. Just like a couple already,_ he wished.

"What kind?"

"Oh, maybe strawberries? I never grew them on Ogygia."

"Just like Camp Half-Blood."

She shrugged.

"Can I help?"

"Of course."

They finished lunch and went back to the shop. Calypso took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Thanks, Leo."

Leo smiled and walked beside her, ready to get back to working with her on the machines.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun burned the back of Leo's neck. He turned over the dark soil with his trowel and stuck in some strawberry seeds. Sighing, he dipped his bandana into a bucket of cool water and tied it around his neck. Water ran down his back.

On the other side of the garden plot was Calypso, humming as she worked. Her jeans and white blouse was speckled with dirt. With quick hands, she flipped over the soil, planted the seeds, and watered it. She looked really hot—and not "heat hot", but "attractive hot". Her brown hair was pulled back with a red bandana and there was dirt in her fingernails, but that was how Leo liked her, not afraid to get dirty.

He put down his gardening tools and crouched down next to her.

"Boo," he said.

Calypso stopped humming. "Hey."

"Can't wait for harvest time." He said. "Nice plump strawberries so good, it'll make Camp look bad."

No reply.

"So… uh, want a lemonade?" Leo asked, getting up.

"Yes, please," Calypso looked up and gave him a small closed-mouth smile. "With a lemon wedge."

"Righty-o!" Leo stuck his hands in his pocket and whistled, walking to their kitchen above the auto shop.

Inside, he poured some homemade lemonade into two glass cups, plopped in some ice cubes and cut up two lemon wedges, sticking one on each rim. Leo gazed down from the window that overlooked the small garden.

Calypso was sitting in the grass, singing to the plants. Her voice was magic, making the plants grow a little faster. Even from up here, Leo could hear it perfectly.

With both drinks in hand, he quietly closed the door. He sneaked up behind her and said, "One ice-cold lemonade for Madame Calypso," in a French accent.

Calypso jumped in surprise then laughed, taking her drink from Leo's hand. "Thank you, sir." She mimicked his fake accent.

Leo grinned. They sat in the grass, sipping lemonade. He put his hand down next to Calypso's. Calypso looked at their hands and blushed, then squeezed his pinkie with hers.

"It's nice out," she said, her brown eyes on the horizon.

"Yeah, it is." Leo said in a light tone. Another point for Team Leo. "Do you want to take Festus for a ride?"

They've been building a pair of better wings for the newly bodied bronze dragon. He was permanently awake ever since Piper charm-spoke him alive.

"Do you think the new wings will work?" Calypso asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Of course!" Leo said, surprised. "We made it ourselves, so duh!"

Calypso nodded. "Right. After we finish our lemonade.

When they drained the last of their drink, they brought out the celestial bronze wings from the workshop. Leo ran to the barn in the back and called out, "Festus, boy! Time to fly!"

Out of the dark corners lumbered out a very large metal dragon with ruby red eyes and sharp teeth. Festus made some creaking and whirring noises, which Leo understood.

"Yeah, your new wings are done and ready for a test flight!"

Festus stomped closer to Leo who rubbed the dragon's muzzle.

"Can you take Calypso and I to Camp?" He asked.

The dragon cocked his head as if pondering and then made some clicking noises that Leo knew as  _yes_.

"Alrighty. Let's attach those winds and saddle you up."

Leo led Festus out of the barn to where Calypso waited with the wings. What shone more, the light reflecting off the bronze wings or the sun on Calypso's hair?

In only a minute, the wings were attached to the dragon's back. Leo helped Calypso on top then climbed on himself. He held the reins in his hands. "Hold on tight now, we don't want you falling off and turning into an immortal splat on the ground."

Calypso snorted but wrapped her arms around his waist. Leo's heart did a full gymnastics routine. She smelled  _really_  good despite working all day.

"Come on, Festus." He coaxed. "Let's see what you can do."

Festus flapped his wings a few times. Then he took off a little clumsily, which made Calypso squeeze tighter. He grinned like a fool in love, which he was, of course.

The wind whipped their faces, making Leo's curly brown locks bounce. The buildings below looked like toys. They flew past a surprised flock of birds. A bug zipped past his ear and must have hit Calypso's face because she yelled, "Gah!" and buried her face in his back.

Leo smiled. It was colder up here, but Calypso was warm—and cute.

"We're going to camp!" he yelled against the wind. She nodded, her face moving Leo's shirt up and down.

"Okay," he heard her say.

After a few minutes of flying in the air, they touched down in Camp Half-Blood, scaring away several campers. They landed in a clear area in the middle of the ring of cabins. Leo helped Calypso off. He waved to some gaping demigods. Percy and Annabeth ran to them. He grabbed Calypso's hand and pulled her over.

"Hey, man!" Percy said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Welcome back. Haven't seen you in a while."

Annabeth hugged him. "Nice to see you, Leo."

Leo still held Calypso's hand. He gestured to her. "Guys, remember Calypso?"

Percy and Annabeth nodded. Percy shifted nervously from foot to foot. Oh yeah, Calypso used to like Percy. A little flame burst inside of him. He was still mad that Percy had hurt and left her on Ogygia.

Annabeth eyed Leo and Calypso's entwined hands. "Are you guys a thing now?" she asked rather bluntly.

Calypso and Leo flushed and quickly let go.

"Uh, no." He said.

"He is still annoying." Calypso said, turning her head.

"Yeah, and Calypso is still, uh, Calypso." Leo joked. The ends of Calypso's mouth twitched up.

"Oh!" Percy exclaimed, putting his hands together. "Calypso's never been to camp before."

"Of course! Let's show her around," Annabeth agreed.

Just then, a big boom came from somewhere in the back of the forest.

"I guess that would be Bunker Nine." Leo said. "Let's go check it out!"


	3. Chapter 3

"And this, Callie, is where Festus started!" Leo exclaimed.

"Do not call me 'Callie'." Calypso shot him a look.

"Whatever you say, Lypso."

She sent him another death glare.

"So, anyways," Leo continued, leading her further inside Bunker Nine. "I found this place after I saved Festus from the trap my brothers and sisters made."

Calypso looked confused. "Why would they trap him?"

"Well," Leo said. "At first, he was good until Beckendorf died. Then he went a little cray-cray and burned the camp and hid into the woods. Then I came along with my awesome and totally amazing fire skills, and fixed the bad boy up. Even gave him wings."

Then Leo began describing Festus during his quest with Jason and Piper, like how he got a little frozen in Boreas' place, when Khione the ice babe froze his harddrive, and how he got destroyed save for his head. At that last part he started getting emotional and turned away so Calypso couldn't see.

He coughed and showed her the drawing he made when he was a kid and Hera was a crazy old baby-sitter who liked putting little boys into fireplaces.

Calypso nodded and seemed very interested in everything he told her. He liked the way her eyes widened when he told her about the many ways he almost got killed (and temporarily turned to gold) and the amazement she showed when he told her about the times he saved Jason and Piper with his mechanics. Gods, she was cute.

Leo was in the middle of telling her about crashing from the sky and onto her island when he heard the horns signaling dinner. It was that late already? With his ADHD, time sped up when he was having fun. But anyways, he took her to the dining area.

When they got there, both were famished.

"The plates give you any food you want to eat, and the drinks give you any beverag

"And this, Callie, is where Festus started!" Leo exclaimed.

"Do not call me 'Callie'." Calypso shot him a look.

"Whatever you say, Lypso."

She shot him another death glare.

"So anyways," Leo continued, leading her further inside Bunker Nine. "I found this place after I saved Festus from the trap my brothers and sisters made."

Calypso looked confused. "Why would they trap him?"

"Well," Leo said. "At first, he was good until Beckendorf died. Then he went a little cray-cray and burned the camp and hid into the woods. Then I came along with my awesome and totally amazing fire skills, and fixed the bad boy up. Even gave him wings."

Then Leo began describing Festus during his quest with Jason and Piper, like how he got a little frozen in Boreas' place, when Khione the ice babe froze his hard-drive, and how he got destroyed save for his head. At that last part he started getting emotional and turned away so Calypso couldn't see.

He coughed and showed her the drawing he made when he was a kid and Hera was a crazy old baby-sitter who liked putting little boys into fireplaces.

Calypso nodded and seemed very interested in everything he told her. He liked the way her eyes widened when he told her about the many ways he almost got killed (and temporarily turned to gold) and the amazement she showed when he told her about the times he saved Jason and Piper with his mechanics. Gods, she was cute.

Leo was in the middle of telling her about crashing from the sky and onto her island when he heard the horns signaling dinner. It was that late already? With his ADHD, time sped up when he was having fun. But anyways, he took her to the dining area.

When they got there, both were famished.

"The plates give you any food you want to eat, and the drinks give you any beverage... unless it's alcoholic." He wished he could have invented it, but it was obviously magic, not mechanics.

"That's cool." Calypso said. "So what is the fire for? The one that people throw food into."

"Oh, that's a sacrificial fire. You burn an offering to your godly parent or whatever god or goddess you are thankful to."

Calypso made a face. "Ugh, an offering to the gods?" That's right, Calypso was mad at the gods for her unfair punishment on Ogygia. Leo was mad at the gods for that too, but then, he wouldn't have met Calypso.

"Meh," Leo snorted. "Oh, well. Let's eat; I'm starved!"

Leo ate some really good enchiladas. Calypso didn't eat much except for an egg salad sandwich. He scooted closer to her. "Only egg-salad?"

Calypso shrugged. "I like eggs and salad and bread."

Leo laughed. "Here, try this." He held the enchilada to her face.

She looked at it uncertainly, but bit into the food. She chewed and nodded. "It's good."

Leo grinned and said, "Yep. Now lemme have as bite of that." He gestured to the egg salad sandwich.

Calypso shook her head. "Nope."

"Not fair," Leo pouted. "I gave you some of my food! And you still owe me for saving you! How 'bout another kiss?"

She laughed. "Not a chance, scrawn ." but she pecked him on the cheek. He smirked.

"That all ya' got?"

"That's all you're gonna' get. And that didn't happen either."

"Whatever you say, Callie-Lypso."

She elbowed him.

"Ouch! Hey!"

So with many "Good-bye"s and "See you later"s, they flew back to their place, warmed in the cold night by Festus' heat.

When they got there, they walked Festus into the shed and climbed the stairs to their own rooms.

"Night, Calypso." He said.

"Good-night, Leo." She said. "Today was fun. I like your camp."

And to bed they went. Leo didn't have a single nightmare that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Light began to shine through Leo's eyelids. He heard birds singing from outside, an orchestra of tweets and chirps.

"Mmm... morning already?" He stretched, sat up, and began wiggling his toes and fingers awake. The alarm clock read 7:46.  _Did I forget to set the alarm?_

The smell of eggs and bacon wafted from the kitchen. _Eggs and bacon, awesome!_ He quickly pulled on a shirt from his dresser and paddled to the kitchen.

"Morning," Leo said. He pulled out a chair from the table and plopped down.

"Good morning Leo." Calypso replied, already dressed for the day. "The eggs are ready and the bacon is almost done." She flipped the sizzling pork over in the pan and grabbed some plates, piling it with golden scrambled eggs. Calypso also got out some forks and handed one to Leo, who was drooling over the fresh breakfast.

"Oh, yum!" He exclaimed after shoveling a big serving of hot eggs in his mouth, not feeling the burn on his tongue. "This is great!"

Calypso smiled. "Thank you. Save some room for the bacon, though." She took the pan off the stove (which she also turned off) and scraped the bacon on to each of their plates. "Dig in."

In a matter of seconds, Leo's plate was clear of anything, all the crumbs licked off.

"Hey, hey, hey. Can I have that?" He pointed to Calypso's last strip of bacon.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please? With a cherry on top?" He gave her a puppy dog look."

"Ugh, fine! Don't use that on me!"

Leo snatched it off her plate and gulped it down. She watched him eat it with a hint of longing. He didn't know whether it was for him or the bacon. He guessed it was the latter. Maybe. Now feeling a little guilty, he got up and put the dishes in the sink for her.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked her. It was a Saturday, which means that the shop was closed for the day, only doing pick-ups.

"Oh, uh, I don't know." Calypso shrugged. "What about you?"

Leo pondered this. "I guess we could take Festus and fly to Camp Jupiter and visit my man Frank and Hazel. I think Jason should be there as well, which means Piper will be also. Maybe even spend the night in New Rome?"

Calypso tilted her head to the side. "Yes, that would be nice. Do we have any pick-ups today or tomorrow?"

"I think only one this afternoon at eleven."

"Then let's go at twelve."

"Deal. In the meantime, I'll get Festus ready. I think he can do a long distance flight now, but I'll just test fly him for a bit."

"Sure. Don't forget to pack.

"Yeah, okay."

The wind whistled in Leo's ears. Festus flew into a small puffy cloud and emerged from it wet. The water droplets evaporated off of Festus' warm back. They talked a little to each other. It went like:

Leo: Knock knock.

Festus:  _Clank puff_

Leo: Sherwood.

Festus:  _Whirr creak clank_

Leo: Sherwood like to come in.

Festus:  _..._

Leo: Uh, yeah. Okay. Whatever.

By the time they touched down back home, the sun was high in the sky.

 _Ding ding_ , went the bell as he walked in. "What time is it?"

Calypso was behind the counter, scribbling down something in the logbook. She looked up, pushing a section of her brown hair behind her ear. "It's eleven forty-six." She said, glancing at the clock on the back wall. "Did you pack?"

"Well, no. I just got back."

Calypso grunted. "Just go. And don't forget your toothbrush and comb."

"Yes ma'am."

Leo trudged up the stairs, grabbed a backpack, and shoved a fresh pair of jeans and his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt (Just to show that he wasn't one of the Romans). He also threw in some screws and bolts. Oh, and his toothbrush and comb. Slinging it over his shoulder, he ran back down the stairs. "I'm done!" He called out.

"Okay! I'm in the back with Festus!" Calypso shouted from the barn house.

On his way out he turned off all the lights and locked the door behind him.

Calypso had climbed on top of Festus in the front seat with the reins in her hands.

"Hey!" Leo said. "Who said you could drive Festus?"

Calypso stuck her tongue out at him. "I can ride him just fine!"

"And do you know how?"

"Oh, uh." Calypso blushed. "I've kind of taken him out for a spin a couple of times."

"When?" Leo asked incredulously.

"Um, at night, when he had his old wings. I didn't go very high the first few times. Good thing Festus knows how to fly by himself."

Leo shrugged. "Well, if you think you can handle him all the way to California... fine with me. I trust you." And he really did. He wouldn't trust anyone else with his dragon, not even Jason.

Calypso smiled. "Thanks." Leo climbed up behind her.

"Uh, hey," he said, moving his arms, silently asking if he should put his arms around her waist. "Do you mind?"

Calypso sucked in her cheeks, which turned a rosy pink. "Sure. We wouldn't want you to fall off and turn into demigod splat on the ground." She joked.

"Hey, those are supposed to be  _my_  lines!" Leo grinned.

"Yeah, whatever. Just hold on with those scrawny arms of yours."

So he wrapped them around her tiny waist and said, "Now don't you crash us."

They took off, soaring through the bright blue sky. Calypso's hair flew into Leo's face. He caught her scent, a lovely mixture of cinnamon and wood smoke. He laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Oh, er, um... Leo? Are you okay?" Calypso tensed up.

"Mmm, no. I'm good. Just a little tired, that's all," he lied. He couldn't just tell her he just wanted to do that because he liked her. That would be awkward, especially if she didn't like him back. But the raft came for Leo that night in Ogygia. Didn't it only come for heroes Calypso had fallen in love with? And what about that kiss that had followed right after? But what if she didn't feel the same anymore? If nothing they've only grown closer... right?

Before he knew it, it was a few hours past and he had fallen asleep on Calypso's shoulder. _Oh, man_ , he thought. _I hope I didn't drool._ Fortunately, he did not. Leo lifted his head.

"Uhn…" He yawned.

"Finally awake?" Calypso asked.

"Yeah… why didn't you wake me up?" Leo asked.

"Well, because you snore a little when you sleep. I thought it was… cute."

"Oh."

They continued on, almost there. Calypso hummed and sang, and sang and hummed. In a few minutes, they were greeted by two Romans where they landed in a field just outside the border. One was a bulky Chinese dude and the other a small African-American girl with chestnut-brown hair.

"Yo, Frank! Hazel! Sup!" Leo jumped off of Festus, Calypso sliding down behind him.

"Hey there Calypso." Frank looked over Leo's shoulder. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah," Hazel said. "Are you two staying long?"

Leo nodded. "Yep. We wanted to stay the night."

"Stay the night?" Hazel cooed. "Sounds like fun! Wann to stay at our place?"

"If that's okay." Calypso said. "We don't want to intrude or bother you two. We could stay in a hotel or something."

"No, no! Its fine! We asked; if you were going to be a bother, we wouldn't have!"

Leo grinned. "Alrighty then, demigod sleepover!" He looked at Calypso. "Plus one immortal Titan daughter."

Frank shrugged. "But first, we have to warm you about—"

Before Frank could finish, two more demigods came storming from Camp Jupiter. A tall, fair-haired male and a choppy-brown-haired female—Jason and Piper. In seconds they reached the group. Frank and Hazel backed up, definitely looking scared.

"Leo!" Jason and Piper growled at the same time. They glared at each other. "Can I talk to you?"


	5. Chapter 5

Leo's vacation was starting to turn a little sour.

"Um,  _what_?" Leo sputtered, absolutely confused. "W-what's the matter guys?"

Jason's eyebrows managed to go further down his face. "Hey, man. It's not you—"

"It's  _him_." Piper accused, pointing a finger in Jason's direction.

"No, you're just being unfair! You were on the other team—"

"And I'm your girlfriend! You're not supposed to freaking slash me with your dumb sword!"

"Reyna never minded. She was a great leader, never letting her fellow Romans confuse her during battle."

"Oh, so Reyna's a better girlfriend than me?"

"I never said that! Jeesh!"

Leo put his arm between the couple. "Hold on, hold on.  _What_  in Olympus is going on? You guys are supposed to be tight."

Hazel sighed. "Well, it began with the war game…"

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh man, this doesn't sound good."

Piper growled again. "No. Let  _me_  explain it."

"Nuh-uh. You'll tell it the wrong way, just like a girl." Jason protested.

Piper snarled, and this time Hazel looked angry too. "What do you mean by that?" they demanded.

Frank shrugged. "Well… you girls  _do_  stretch the truth a little…" He stopped when he saw the look on the two girl's faces.

"Excuse me?" Piper snapped. She shook her head and turned to more important matters. "Leo, come with me. Let me talk to you."

Her charmspeak flooded his mind and Leo nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Not fair. Cheater!" Jason spat.

Piper shrugged off the comment. She grabbed Leo's hand, pulling him away. "Come," she insisted.

Leo obliged. He followed her to someplace in Camp Jupiter, not paying any attention to where he was going. Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Calypso (who was looking very confused, poor girl), stormed behind. They weren't going to let Piper do all the talking, especially when things were this big.

By the time the charmspeak wore off, Leo found himself in the middle of a field, most likely the Field of Mars.

Piper turned around and faced him. "Okay now, listen."

She told the story with some interjections from the others. Basically, there was a war game in camp and Jason and Piper joined in. Jason was on one team and Piper the other. Jason was in enemy territory, almost to the flag. Piper was standing guard someplace and Jason, being the rule follower he was, went through Piper with his golden sword to get to the flag.

Piper was mad because Jason had injured her, and Jason was mad because he just followed the rules and didn't let who his enemy was stop him from trying to achieve victory for his team.

The two wanted to know on who's side Leo was. But being both their best friend, he couldn't do this to them. If he chose one, the other would hate him for who knows how long.

He tried to explain why both were right. "Well, Jason, she  _is_  your chick and she  _is_  a girl which means she's a  _little_  more delicate than we are."

" _Delicate?_ " Piper snapped.

"Um, no no, not at all." Leo said quickly. "But Piper, Jason  _is_  on the other team, and being a good team member, he  _shouldn't_  care who his enemy is. Plus, it's just a game guys, chill!"

"It's not just a game! I got sliced by my boyfriend!"

"And you got taken care of by the infirmary!"

Piper lifted her shirt up to a little over her bellybutton. "Do you see this scar?!" But there wasn't one.

"UGH!" she groaned. "Mom! You are  _so_  not helping! AND AREN'T YOU THE GODDESS OF FREAKING LOVE LIVES?!"

Hazel looked at Piper with worried eyes. "Piper, please. Calm down."

Piper took a deep breath. "Okay, okay. What in all of Hades—no offense—do you want me to do?"

Hazel groaned and whispered something in her ear.

Piper opened her eyes wide and exclaimed, "I am not!" In a quieter voice she muttered, "Maybe it is. So what?"

Hazel, and even Calypso, sighed. "It means you need to calm down!"

"B-but!" Piper sputtered. "Arg! Fine!" She stormed off toward New Rome, probably to where she was staying, and disappeared from Leo's sight.

"Wow." He said. "What did you ask her?"

The two remaining girls looked down and blushed. "Um, nothing."

He looked at Frank and Jason who both shrugged. At least Jason looked calmed down.

"Okay bro," Leo said to the son of Zeus—Jupiter, whatever. "Are you alright?"

Jason shrugged again. "Yeah. Just a little stressed about things, being the ambassador for both camps. I don't feel like I belong in either. I'm Roman, but in some ways I like the Greek style better. Definitely not very Roman…"

Frank put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "It's okay, dude. I think you're a pretty great Roman. You were made Praetor here, too. That counts for a lot."

Jason sighed. "Yeah, you're right. We're just over-reacting."

Leo grinned. "Yeah, you two were. No go kiss her and make up."

Jason followed Piper's path back to the main area, leaving the four behind.

Calypso snorted. "That was fun," she remarked sarcastically. "Nice start to a vacation."

Hazel gasped. "Oh no, you're right! I'm so sorry! If only we had dealt with them earlier-!"

Leo shoved Hazel playfully on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure Sammy would have turned this into something hilarious."

An awkward silence followed at the sound of Leo's great-grandfather's name. He was also Hazel's almost-boyfriend when she was alive the first time.

"Um, I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright." Hazel straightened herself up. "Let's show you to our place." She took Frank by the hand and walked off to New Rome, Calypso and Leo tagging behind.

Frank and Hazel shared a small place in New Rome, near the college. It had three bedrooms, one for each and a guest.

"You can take the room." Leo told Calypso.

"No, it's okay. You can have it. I'm small enough to fit on the couch just fine." Calypso insisted.

Leo shook his head. "You need your privacy, and I'm tough," He pretended to puff up his chest. "I can manage one stinky little couch.

"Hey," Frank sniffed. "I picked out that couch!"

"Not what I mean, Frank."

"Oh, right."

Calypso giggled. "Oh, fine. I'll take the bedroom. But don't complain when you can't fit on the couch."

"I thought I was too scrawny."

"Well, maybe you aren't."

Leo grinned and slung his arm across her shoulder. "Since when wasn't I?"

Calypso blushed furiously. "I don't know. And that matters why?"

"Oh, nothing. Maybe it was the day you started crushin' on the Leo?"

She turned ever redder. "I am not 'crushing' on you. Whatever you decide to call it is Minotaur bull."

"Come on, I know you want me! Team Leo for the win! I'm the hot stuff!" Leo joked.

Hazel snorted. "You sound the sane as when you were trying to get those crazy nymphs to like you. And do you remember Echo? She was nice."

Leo froze. He could feel Calypso tensing up underneath his arm.

"Oh?" She asked in a hard voice. "That sounds like an interesting tale. A whole crowd of pretty Team Leo nymphs."

"Um, did I... say something wrong?" Hazel squeaked.

That was the wrong thing to blurt out. Nothing like a bad-move than to tell a girl the guy she may or may not like that he was trying to get other girls to like him.

"Um," Hazel stammered. Frank was sitting on the couch, awkwardly watching the little scene. "Actually, they were all still on Narcissus's side. We just needed them to like Leo better so Narcissus wouldn't look at himself. He was there and Echo was trying to help him not die again."

"Mm-hm." Leo winced.  _Not really going so well,_ he thought.  _And right when I was almost there, too._ "They were all in his favor. Team Leo consisted of just me and Hazel. We just were there to get the celestial bronze away from Narcissus."

"Yeah. Sounds like a fun story. You should tell me the juicer details sometime later." Calypso forced a smile and walked to the guest bedroom. "I'll put my stuff away. If you need me to cook or something, just ask."

Leo's vacation trip with Calypso was off to a pretty bad start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll reupload the other chapters later, either this evening or tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Leo, Calypso, Frank, and Hazel decided to have lunch at a café near their place in New Rome. It was a lovely day, with clear blue skies and the perfect temperature, but moods were glum.

Hazel had said something that might have set back Leo and Calypso's "relationship meter." It was nothing really, just a passing comment about a past incident with nymphs and Narcissus, but girls were girls, which meant they got jealous about other girls. It was enough to give a guy a god-sized headache.

Leo gloomily ate his sandwich. Hazel picked at her food, and Calypso barely touched anything. Frank, well, this Leo/Calypso thing didn't really affect him, but he worried about Hazel, who looked like she was blaming herself.

Jason and Piper walked up to the sulking group.

"Hey," Piper said cautiously, taking in the tense mood floating about. She latched onto Jason's arm. "Sorry about earlier. I was pretty stressed and homesick and dadsick… and I don't know…" Sighing, she closed her head and leaned into Jason's side.

There were a few mumbles from the four about it being okay and understandable. The standing couple glanced at each other, having a silent, concerned conversation.

Leo had his head in his hands and stared down at the table. The dark wood had breadcrumbs and water droplets scattered about. The weekend was supposed to be a great time for Calypso and him to get closer, but darn…

He got up, brushed himself off, and addressed the others, "Well, I'm done. I'll meet you guys back at Frank's place, I guess."

They nodded. Piper and Jason left, and Calypso, Hazel, and Frank (who was finishing up his lunch) stayed behind.

The walk to the small home was short, but at least he had time alone to mull over things. Festus was being cared for in the stables. The shop was locked up and ready to be opened again when they got back. Leo was okay, physically, which was good, considering he was a demigod who smelled pretty bad. Calypso was… well, he didn't know. He didn't think he'd ever know what she felt like.

When he first met her, she hated him, and the feeling was mutual. Then he had found her crying and loosened a bit up. He began working on a way off the island while Calypso cooked him food and made him clothes. Then both of them had worked together and built a device for a raft, which had shown up at the end, meaning Calypso must have liked him. And then she kissed him. And from there on forward... Leo had no idea.

He was sprawled out on the couch with his shoes off when Calypso entered through the front door. They made eye contact, which lasted very shortly. Calypso's eyes reflected a little bit of pain and confusion and… something else, something soft and warm. But Leo could place no word to match it. She walked past him and into her room without a sound or even the smallest glance in his direction. It made Leo's heart crack. For something figurative, it hurt a lot.

When the door closed, Leo could hear a muffled groan from the room, like her face was buried in a pillow. Following that was the run of the showerhead from the guest bathroom.

Leo stared at the ceiling. She was his first real love. What he thought he had with Khione was nothing compared to how he felt for Calypso. Calypso was like a soft, warm ray of sunshine, a cool breeze in the hot summer air, a flower in a forest of weeds. Whenever he was near her, his heart stopped working like a broken engine, or it sped up like an oiled clog. Leo just couldn't bring himself to brave up and tell her, which was funny, because defeating Gaea seemed easier than this.

The minutes passed. Calypso was out of the shower, but still mulling about in her room, when Frank and Hazel came back. They seemed better, but who could really tell.

Leo heard Hazel whisper something to Frank, then she went into Calypso's room.

"Hey," he grunted to Frank.

Frank nodded. "Hey."

They shared that manly "hey" thing that guys always do and Frank walked into his bedroom. Leo heard a sprinkle of water and a "Hey, Coach. How's Mellie and the kid?"

He wanted to get up and fix something, but he didn't have anything that needed fixing. Muffled voices came from the guest room. It was hard to tell, but he thought he heard his name.

Now I dare you to not listen when someone was talking about you. Leo sprang from the couch, and as quietly as he could, he snuck to put his ear against the door.

H: So… how are you feeling?

C:  _*sigh*_  Confused. Definitely confused.

"Is it about, um, Leo?"

"…"

"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I'm not really that close to you or whatever."

"No, it's okay. At least you'll understand."

"Probably. So what is it?"

"Um, it's… definitely Leo."

Leo cringed. Was he a problem? Did he bother her? Did he—

Calypso blurted out quickly, "I really like him and I'm even more confused because I don't know if he feels the same and that would be weird because if he doesn't feel the same it'll be bad, like, _really_ bad, and I don't really know him that well but I feel like I know him, you know?"

Leo turned red. _Oh._ He wanted to tell her he really liked her too, but that would show he was listening.

Hazel laughed. "I can't tell you whether he likes you back or not; he'll have to say himself. What I can tell you is that during the whole Narcissus thing, the 'Team Leo' thing was just to get the crazy nymph fangirls away so Narcissus wouldn't look at the bronze we needed. Nothing love related. And not with Echo either; she was trying to save Mr. Vain from dying again."

Calypso sounded embarrassed when she spoke. "Oh. I guess. I mean, I was just…"

"I know what you mean. Starting a relationship with someone is just as hard as keeping it together, which means no love rivals. Even misunderstandings like when Frank thought Leo had a thing for me."

"Did he? Does he?"

Hazel chuckled again. "No, he's related to my old possible-boyfriend back when I was alive. For the first time, I mean. He looks a lot like Sammy did."

"What?"

"Long story. Tell it to you later."

There was a silence broken by Calypso. "I think I'm going to talk to Leo. Maybe tell him how I feel."

Leo heard her get up from sitting on the bed, but reacted much to late. He had just realized that she was leaving the room right through that very door when she opened it and he fell on the floor inside.

He crashed in a tangled heap, pulling Calypso down with him. She was pinned underneath him, and Calypso turned redder than a ripe tomato in her garden. Leo could feel his ears heating up.

He winced at her. "Um, hello?"


	7. Chapter 7

Calypso sputtered. "L-Leo!" She tried to get up, and Leo clumsily backed away. Heat flooded his face with embarrassment. _Oh man, what just happened?_

Hazel was still sitting on the bed, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Calypso gaped at Leo and said, "Were you…? Did…"

Leo looked guiltily at her. "Um… no?" He tried.

Calypso turned her head down, her long hair shielding her face. "You heard, didn't you?"

It was no use pretending he didn't. He was caught red-handed. Even Frank had come to see what the racket was about.

"Maybe."

A silence filled the room. The tension in the air was unbearable. Hazel leapt off the bed and dragged a confused Frank out through the door of the house. Leo and Calypso sat in front of each other on the floor.

The silence consumed a few more minutes until Calypso cursed in ancient Greek and said, "So. I guess you know that… I… like you. Um, a lot."

"And I like you a lot, too," he replied sheepishly.

Calypso's head sprang up. "What?"

Leo cleared his throat. "I like you a lot, too."

"Oh."

And the next thing he knew, they were kissing for the second time. The kiss was short and abrupt like before. They stared at each other in a new light, like there might be a chance they would be together for, hopefully, forever.

"Um," they said at the same time.

Leo and Calypso hastily got up. Leo walked in a daze back to the couch and Calypso shut the door behind him.

He plopped down on the cushion and looked at the wall. _Wow_. There was nothing else to say. _Wow_.

Calypso liked Leo. She liked him the same way he liked her. And they'd kissed again, for the first time since Ogygia.

Feeling lightheaded, he laid back down. Maybe they would get together, be a couple like Frank and Hazel, Jason and Piper, and Percy and Annabeth. But it seemed weird to be called someone's boyfriend. Dating was all new to Leo. Sure, he had plenty of examples, but he'd never had this kind of… connection before. He wasn't sure if they would become "official", if anything happened anyways.

But,  _Calypso liked Leo_. A spark of hope erupted inside him, a flame to be kindled, to grow and expand. Maybe he would officially ask her out. But that seemed too rushed. I mean, did Jason officially ask out Piper? No, not really. They just blended together, like slowly stirring chocolate powder and milk.

Leo sighed. Things were getting a little weird. If it didn't work out, if the scene was just too much, their friendship—or whatever they had before—would crumble, and _poof_! No more Leo and Calypso's Auto Repair and Mechanical Monsters, and definitely no more Leo and Calypso. Period. End of story.

He decided to ask Jason, Frank, and Percy about girl advice. They were the experts, weren't they? Other than the whole Piper/Jason fight this morning, they made a good, compatible couple.

With a drachma in his pocket, Leo walked to a quiet, lonely place somewhere on the Little Tiber that flowed through and around Camp Jupiter. Using the water spray and the sunlight, he offered his coin to the rainbow goddess.

"Hey, Iris. Is it possible to get a four-way message?" He asked, not sure if he would even get a reply.

A female voice came from the rainbow. " _Hi! My name's Fleecy! I guess it would be okay, but only if you say, 'O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show…' so and so. Now say it. Go on..."_

Leo was a little weirded out, but if he could make a four-way call, that was fine with him. He cleared his throat. "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show Jason Grace, Percy Jackson, and Frank Zhang."

From the one rainbow, two more sprouted out like leaves on a branch. The left had Jason, the middle and original, Percy, and the right, Frank. From the surprised look on all of their faces, they must have seen three different rainbow messages too.

"Um," Percy raised an eyebrow. "Can I take a dump in private?"

"Oh, that's great, Percy." Jason glared. "Tell us all about it."

"Hey! Can't a guy have a little privacy?"

"Calm down you two," Frank interrupted. "Just how is this four-way call working?"

Leo sighed. "A person named Fleecy I guess."

Percy and Frank both said, "Oh.  _Fleecy,_ " like they knew her before.

"Who is this person?" Jason asked.

"A nebulae," Percy explained. "She helps Iris run the Iris-messages and she makes a really bad wheat germ."

 _"I heard that!"_  Exclaimed Fleecy's voice.

"Sorry," Percy said. Frank and Jason snorted. Leo just rolled his eyes.

"Can we please just get to what I need to ask?" he huffed in frustration. He didn't have all day, and the clouds in the sky might come their way. "I need some girl help."

"Girl help?" Frank asked. "Like with Calypso? What happened after Hazel dragged me out?"

Leo didn't feel like telling them about the kiss. It was too personal. Instead, he said, "How do you get a girl to be your girlfriend?"

Jason grinned. "Ooo, my man Leo's in looove!  _Is_ it Calypso?"

Leo blushed. "Yeah. So, all of you dating men, how do you get a girl to be your girlfriend without directly telling her?"

"Oh man," Percy said. "With Annabeth, I guess I just had to be me. Dumb Sea-Weed Brain. I don't really know, but kissing is a good sign."

Leo nodded. Share a kiss, check.

Frank shrugged. "I be the awesome Frank Zhang, master shape-shifter, black-out preventing Chinese kid who used to be very clumsy and 'adorable.' I don't really know either. Especially when you think someone else was after you girl." He looked pointedly at Leo.

Leo put his hands up. "Hey, I was not after Hazel and you know that."

"Just trying to make a point in relationship no-no's."

Jason fidgeted uncomfortably. "It's a little bit hard for me. I woke up apparently dating a girl I didn't know, and find out that was all a false memory caused by the mist. Then when we did get together... I have to try and be a good hero for Piper. And it doesn't help to have an old colleague who likes you a lot. Sometimes, I think I'm being a bad boyfriend or something, like when I had to be saved by Piper. Remember Medea, that evil princess? I almost— _we_ almost…"

Leo nodded.

Percy said, "Why not be yourself? It's a little hard, but at least you don't have to worry so much."

Jason shook his head. "I still don't really know who I really am, Roman or Greek? Am I a leader or just another part of a group of leaders?"

"Both," Frank said. "You gave me your rank as Praetor even though it's a really big deal. We all respect you, man."

Jason opened his mouth to speak again when a banging sound came from Percy's rainbow.

"Percy! Hurry up! We need you to hose down some flaming demigods!" It was Annabeth, and she sounded irritated.

Percy groaned. "Just a minute! Having an Iris-message here!"

" _What?_ "

"Nothing, just get someone else right now, please!"

"But-! Ugh, I'll get some buckets."

Percy coughed. "Where were we? Girlfriend advice?"

"Yeah," Leo said. "So, just be myself?"

The other demigods nodded.

They swished their hands through all the rainbows and the images disappeared, leaving Leo alone on the bank of the Little Tiber.

"Just be myself," he muttered, "right."

He brushed himself off and headed back to New Rome.


	8. Chapter 8

Leo stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. In and out, in and out.  _Okay, Leo. Just walk in and be yourself._  He entered through the door, not knowing what to hope for.

Calypso was in the living room, watching a show on the TV and taking notes. It's a cooking show and the chef was making a really yummy looking salmon dish. Leo sat down on the couch next to her and glanced back and forth from the television to Calypso.

She took her eyes away from the show and caught Leo looking at her. Blushing, she averted her eyes and fidgeted.

Trying to make things less uncomfortable, Leo said, "Are you planning on trying out the recipe?" It sounded as lame as if he were asking about the weather.

Calypso shrugged. "Maybe."

"Well, it'd be great if you did. I bet you my magic tool belt that yours will taste better than his."

Calypso blushed even harder, turning a deep strawberry red. "Thanks," she squeaked.

They sat next to each other, not saying anything as they watched the show. Leo's mind was swarming with thoughts.

_Should I say something else?_

_Should I scoot closer?_

_Should I put my arm around her like they do in the movies?_

Leo decided to try out the last two. It always worked for the guys in the movie. The girl will scoot closer and snuggle with the guy…

Leo blushed and shook his head. _No time for thoughts right now, just actions. Right._

He scooted closer to Calypso a little at a time until he was about five inches away from her. He took his right arm and slowly moved it upward towards her shoulder.

Then, Calypso glanced over at Leo. She saw his arm midair, almost around her shoulders. Leo stopped and panicked, staring her in the eye awkwardly for a moment. The two blushed furiously and Leo put his arm down. _Okay_ , he thought. _Not a good idea right now…_

Hazel and Frank came back carrying a tray of coffees. "We're back," Hazel announced in a sing-song voice. "Who wants some coffee?"

Frank took two and gave them to Leo and Calypso.

"Thanks," they said.

Frank noticed the two sitting close together and gave Leo a look, and eyebrow raised.  _Things going out okay?_

Leo replied with a shrug.

Frank nodded, taking a cup from Hazel and kissing her cheek. Hazel gushed and took a sip from her cup as Frank put his arm around her shoulder and leaned on her.

They stayed there, drinking coffee in a comfortable silence, when Hazel suggested they play a game.

Leo nodded. "Okay, what game?"

Hazel thought for a moment. "We have some Mythomagic Nico gave us. They were his old toys before he went to camp and his sister Bianca…" She coughed. "Well, anyways, we have that and some regular mortal games."

Calypso raised an eyebrow. "Regular mortal games? Like what?" She had lived alone on her island, so the only way she'd seen what kind of games mortals play was by looking into the past.

"Monopoly, but I don't recommend that unless you want to get in a big argument with the other players." Frank and Hazel looked pointedly at each other. "We have Sorry, another not so friendly game. We have twister, but Frank tends to cheat and turn into something like an octopus." Hazel glared at him this time and Frank pretended to look innocent.

"Wow," Leo said. "You guys really like competitive games. Let's play Twister, the least maddening game you guys have."

"There's Mythomagic," Calypso pointed out.

"That's lame."

Calypso looked embarrassed. "Oh, okay."

Leo instantly felt guilty. She must have wanted to play it. But if he backed out of his word now, that'll look weird. He mentally shook himself.  _Just be yourself. Don't think about Calypso, like you did the first few days on Ogygia._

Hazel nodded. "I'll go get the game mat."

"I think I know where the spinner is," Frank said as he dug around in some drawers.

As the two hosts gathered the game pieces, Leo got up from the couch and stretched. "Let's get as flexible as we can—without turning into another animal."

Calypso got up and wiggled her arms. "Like a monkey," She said.

Leo grinned. "Oo-oo-ah-ah!" He jumped around like a chimpanzee and knocked over a picture on the coffee table. Luckily, he caught it before it fell on the floor.

It was a picture of Hazel, Frank, and Percy during a Roman lunch. In the background, Camp Jupiter was in near ruins. Percy had a purple praetor cape on. It must have been after the battle with the Giant. It seemd so long ago that they were just beginning their quest to defeat Gaea.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Hazel came back with the mat and asked, "Frank, do you have the spinner?"

Frank held it up. "Yep."

"Good." She spread the mat on the floor and placed the spinner on the table. "Boy versus boy and girl versus girl. Ladies first?"

Frank and Leo shrugged. "Sure."

Calypso and Hazel stood by the mat while Frank and Leo sat on the floor and watched.

"You can go first." Hazel offered.

Calypso nodded and flicked the spinner. When it stopped, she read out loud, "Right hand, yellow."

She bent down and placed her right hand on a yellow dot. "Leo," she began. "Can you do my spins for me? I'll be needing my hands."

"Okay," Leo said.

Hazel flicked the spinner. "Right foot, green." She set her right foot down on a green dot.

Leo took the spinner and spun the arrow. It landed on "right foot, blue." Calypso stretched her body and put her foot on a blue space.

The two girls took turn after turn until their bodies were helplessly tangled together.

"I can't hold it any longer!" Calypso complained, her body shaking with effort.

Hazel grimaced. "Ack!"

In a matter of seconds, the two collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Ouch," Calypso and Hazel groaned.

Leo winced. "And does Hazel get flattened under Frank every time you two play?"

"Basically, yeah," Hazel said. Frank let out a laugh.

"Our turn," He said.

Calypso and Hazel switched places with the two guys.

"I'll spin for Frank." Hazel said.

"I guess that leaves me spinning for Leo," Calypso agreed. "Thanks Leo, by the way."

Leo smiled. "You're welcome." He prepped himself for his turn. "Am I going first?"

"Yeah." Frank said as he bent side to side, stretching. "And I promise, no octopi."

As the turns spun by, Leo found it harder and harder to stay up on his arms and feet, especially when Frank was almost twice his size and nearly crushing him.

He grunted. "How do you two do this?" he directed at the two girls giggling at them on the sidelines.

They didn't answer but continued laughing. _Ugh_ ,  _girls_.

Calypso spun the spinner and told Leo, "Left hand, red." _Oh, no_.

Leo struggled to move his hand to a red dot where he could be more or less comfortable. He was too busy to notice he had erupted in flames until Hazel and Calypso shrieked and Frank turned into a small bird and fluttered away to safety.

He quickly extinguished himself, but the mat was already singed where his hands and feet were. He groaned and dropped to the floor, closing his eyes. "Sorry. I'll get you a new one."

He opened his eyes again. Frank was back in human form with parts of his clothes burned away. The three all stared at Leo and started laughing.

"What?" He asked. He really didn't like it when people laughed at him, especially Calypso.

She snorted and said, "Leo… your pants burned away!"

Frank and Hazel laughed even louder and Calypso smiled at Leo apologetically.

Leo sat up and looked down at his legs. Indeed, his pants had burned off and his boxers with little pictures of wrenches and screws were revealed.

"Oops," He blushed. "Can you make me a new set of fire-proof clothes?"


	9. Chapter 9

Leo slept on the couch with a blanket that night. He was deep in sleep, dreaming about weddings.

He imagined his mother getting married with his godly father, Hephaestus. He knew, of course, that gods don't get married with their mortal flings. But it was nice, though, to see his parents getting married.

Then the dream switched so that he was watching his own wedding. He saw himself all dressed up in a tuxedo, his hands clean of any oil stains. A veiled bride was coming down the aisle. Leo hoped it was Calypso, but as she got closer, he saw that it was Gaea in her veil of dirt, her eyes closed and a dreamy smile on her lips.

Leo gasped and looked back at himself, but only to find dream-Leo gone, replaced by a faceless person. Leo blinked a few times, but the unknown groom was till standing there. He turned back to look at the bride to see it was someone different. It looked like an older Calypso. Like, an  _old_ -older Calypso. Her face was all wrinkly, but her bright eyes and cheerful smile were still the same.

Leo felt a pang through his gut. He knew it was just a dream (not that all demigod dreams were _just_ dreams), but it pained him to see his crush happily getting married with some other guy.

He awoke from his dream so suddenly that he thrashed out his arms, trying to defend himself because he thought he was being attacked in his sleep.

"Ouch!" cried a girl's voice.

Leo froze. "Who's there and what do you want?"

The voice huffed under her breath. "It's just me, Calypso."

Leo waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. It was, in fact, Calypso, standing by the couch were he slept. "Calypso? Why- what are you doing?"

She held up his blanket. "I was getting a glass of water, and I saw that you had kicked the blanket off in your sleep. I tried to put it back on because it was a little chilly until you freaked out." Calypso frowned and threw the blanket at Leo.

He put the blanket aside and arranged himself so he was sitting upright. He patted the space next to him, motioning for Calypso to sit down. Warily, she complied.

"Well, now we're both awake. Wanna' talk?" Leo asked.

"Not really. Tell me a story instead," she answered.

"About what?"

"About your quest to stop Gaea."

"That'll be a long story."

"The night is long enough."

Leo sighed and leaned back on the couch, aware of how close they were. "It all started on the bus in the Wilderness school. I've told you this part before, though. Want me to skip it?"

Calypso yawned. "Sure. Begin where you guys flew to Camp Jupiter the first time."

So Leo told her the long and sad and mad and happy tale of the biggest quest of his life. He skimmed over the part about his days on Ogygia. He was almost done when he noticed Calypso snoring softly beside him. Her head was tiled to the side so that her neck would be sore when she woke up in the morning after sleeping in that position for a long time.

Leo tried to set her more comfortable as gently as he could. It resulted in her head lying against the arm of the couch and her body occupying the rest of it.

Now, Leo had no place to sleep but the floor. He could go sleep in Calypso's empty bed, but that seemed like an invasion of her privacy. Even though it was only the guest room and wasn't really hers anyways.

Leo didn't feel like sleeping the night in either place, so he tried to curl up next to Calypso without really touching her.

Since she was on the outer edge of the couch, he tried to place himself next to the back of it, facing the cushions. It took a long time because he was trying not to wake her, but he finally managed it.

He snuggled on the couch with his back to hers and fell asleep.

Leo woke for the second time, but to a surprised gasp right in his ear.

He groggily opened his eyes. He had his body cocooned around something long and soft. For a second, he thought it was his *cough* huggie-pillow *cough* back at home, but it was breathing. Pillows don't breathe. Or snore softly like…  _Calypso_. Oh, no.

His eyes flung open and he saw that he was cuddling with Calypso. Leo sat upright, knocking her out of the couch.

"AH!" She yelped as she hit the ground with a thud. "What in Olympus…?"

Leo sat on the couch, his face beet-red. "Wha-!"

He met eyes with Calypso, who was in a heap on the ground. They stared at each other wide-eyed, they awkwardness to thick to break through. The sound of two doors opening and shuffling came from down the hall. Frank and Hazel ran to the living room in their pajamas.

"What's wrong? Is everyone okay?" Frank asked, looking around the room, searching for an intruder.

Leo broke eye contact with Calypso and said, "No, everything's all right." He searched his head for a probable excuse. "Calypso just came to wake me up for breakfast and scared me."

Frank and Hazel looked at them.

Hazel sighed. "All right. Just don't scare us like that. I really thought something bad had happened."

Calypso got up and straightened her nightclothes. "I'm sorry. Should I cook breakfast? It's the least I could do." She looked at Leo again and the two quickly averted their gaze.

All Leo could think about through breakfast was the fact that they had spent the night together in the same couch. Hopefully Calypso didn't mind, because Leo certainly didn't.

The morning went by quickly to Leo's relief. The four planned to do some practicing in the camp grounds.

"You never know when a monster will come after you," Leo reasoned, "we may have defeated Gaea, but we're still demigods—excluding Calypso here—and that means we're still at risk. You don't want to be confronted by a hoard of monsters and find that you're a little rusty at fighting."

"Like how Percy and Annabeth still attend Camp Half-Blood," Hazel pointed out. "And I could practice my Mist-bending skills."

" _Ex_ actly. So what kind of things do you practice?"

"Well," Frank said. "We can see if we can practice Pegasus riding. Oh, and maybe we can use some battle armor and weapons to practice combat fighting."

Leo didn't really have a weapon of his own. If he needed to fight, he just used his fire or tools from his magic tool belt, but it couldn't hurt to try. For example, if he didn't have his belt or if he fought someone who was immune to fire attacks.

 _In reality_ , Leo thought, _riding a Pegasus is harder than it seems._

Don't be misguided by those cartoons where people just jump on the Pegasus' back and fly off into the rainbow. You have to make sure they  _want_  you to ride them. Then you have to make sure you don't slip off the dumb winged beast. Its wings are always getting loose feathers in your face or pushing you off. And trust Leo when he says, falling off a horse midair  _hurts_. Luckily, Frank is in eagle mode to catch fallers. If you don't have a Frank, or a giant friendly eagle, well... you're screwed _._

Leo had no idea how Percy managed to stay on his horse/brother Blackjack. (And yes, Leo thought it was disturbing that Percy was a half-brother to all Cyclopes and horses. And the fact his dad dated Medusa who in return had given birth to Pegasus.) Calypso seemed to be getting on okay and Hazel already knew how to ride her horse, Arion. Leo had only ridden him once, and they went  _very_  fast.

Combat training was alright, if alright meant that you accidentally burned off your clothes again in front of all of Camp Jupiter and almost got killed by your crush with a sword. Yeah, Leo was not a good Pegasus-riding-sword-fighter.

Nonetheless, he was having a great time. Leo was doing something active with his friends and it gave him a chance to erase all tension with Calypso. The day was good, until some roman dude had started hitting on Calypso.

They were having lunch Roman-style ( _which was amazing,_ Leo thought. _Romans knew how to eat._ ), when this guy came and sat right next to Calypso. He shoved Leo aside, looked at him like this guy thought he was some kind of Latino defect, and flashed a dazzling smile at Calypso.

"Hey there," he said. He reminded Leo of Dylan, the storm creature that had pretended to be human and tried hitting on all the girls in school, including Piper.

Leo glared at him as hard as he could. Too bad Leo couldn't shoot lasers from his eyes.

The new guy continued his attempt at flirting. "I haven't seen you around before. Where have you been all this time?"

Leo was about to tell this guy off for being rude and trying to get his almost-girl.

Calypso scoffed. "Definitely far away from _you_."

Leo stifled a laugh as the guy scowled.

"Now, now, I don't like girls who play hard to get."

Calypso frowned in frustration. "Leave me alone.  _Get lost_. By the way... I'm... taken."

Leo gaped at her. Taken? Like as in, taken-taken? By who?  _Leo_?

The dude frowned even more and got up to leave. "Whatever, I'm out of here. There are better girls around here than you." He strutted away like a pompous peacock, leaving Leo flabbergasted.

"Taken?" He galed at Calypso.

She blushed but shook her head. "I just said that to get him to leave."

Leo's heart dropped to his stomach. "Oh."

Calypso eyed him shyly. "Unless…"

Leo looked up. "Unless?"

She fiddled with her food, opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. Leo felt that way right now.

_Should I ask her?_

_How? Should I just say, "Hey, I want to be your boyfriend, so date me please?"_

_Should I—_

Leo was spared having to ask when Calypso blurted out quickly, "Unless-you-want-to-maybe-like-go-out-sometime?"

Leo sat there with his mouth slightly open.

"I mean, if you want to…" She shook her head. "I shouldn't have asked but you—I—I mean…"

Leo took her hand. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, of course!" He smiled, overjoyed to see she smiled back. The day world could end and nothing would damper his mood.

 


	10. Chapter 10

With good-bye hugs all around, Leo and Calypso flew off back home on Festus after an eventful weekend. The ride was pleasant, though silent, with an upbeat mood. Time flew by, and before they knew it, they were landing down next to the barn house.

Leo slid off the warm, metal hide and stretched his arms, Calypso daintily hopping down beside him.

"Home, sweet home! Let's get back to those machines!" He cheered and lead Festus back into the barn. They flipped the sign in the auto shop back to _welcome_ and tidied up a bit, waiting for business to resume.

After a few hours of fixing up machinery, the first demigod came in with an order. Calypso sprang to the counter to serve him.

"Hey, Calypso," greeted the demigod. "It's me again, Gideon, with a new order for arrows."

Calypso pulled out a notepad and pen from a drawer. "What kinds do you want today, Gideon?"

"Ten bomb-arrows and five hydras please." He adjusted his empty quiver. "You know, no one would guess I was a Hecate kid, they all assume I'm an Apollo."

Leo nodded. "Just like our friend Frank. Son of Mars, but he's a great bowmen."

Calypso scribbled down the order. "Pick up date?"

Gideon titled his head. "Hmm, Friday. That's in five days. We have a war game going on that day in camp and I'm gonna try to win."

"Good luck," Calypso smiled. "See you again Friday."

Gideon waved good-bye and walked out the door, whistling a tune. Leo hanged the slip on the wall in the back of the shop where they worked. "Five hydras, better get started," he noted.

As Leo began working on the arrows, Calypso continued with the desk work. He had finished making most of the bomb-arrows; they were easiest for him, especially since Leo was the fire-exploding master, when two other demigods came in.

"Hi, I'm Julia," introduced a girl with brown hair and matching eyes. She pointed to the male beside her. "This is Jacob. We're here to place in an order for the repair of our war chariot. We have it out in the front."

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, and we need it by Friday morning for the war game back at Camp Half-Blood."

 _Ah, camp war games_. He had never participated in one; all his time at camp had been preparing for quests and building the Argo II. They had a few in the months between his first adventure and Percy's retrival, though. Everyone came back from them laughing and celebrating, even the losing cabins.

Calypso jotted down the information on another slip and went outside to help haul the chariot in the garage. A few minutes later, after the two demigods were gone, Calypso came over to the work desk.

"Need any help?" She sat on the edge of the desk and began to assemble a hydra arrow without a response from Leo.

The day slipped by and they closed up shop. Deciding to tend to the garden, the pair walked outside in the cool evening air.

"So," Leo ventured, pulling up weeds. "When was the last time you saw your dad, Atlas?"

Calypso shrugged. "When the gods decided to put me on Ogygia, remember? Because I supported him in the first Titan War."

"Oh. Right."

"You?"

"Well... I haven't seen my dad in a long time either. And my mom, well, she died when I was a kid."

"Oh. Right."

"Yeah."

They continued pulling up weeds and watering plants in silence. Trying to talk with people was hard. He just wasn't a people-person, especially not a talking-to-cute-girls-that-I'm-dating-person. He blamed it on his dad. Leo turned his head in attempt to say something else, when he saw Calypso flicker.

"Calypso!" He jumped up to touch her shoulder.

"What?"

Leo jiggled her arm impatiently. "I just saw you flicker! Are you okay?"

Calypso frowned. "I- I didn't do anything. Maybe just a trick of the light."

He withdrew his arm. Leo was sure he saw her flicker. It was like watching something on an old television, where it quickly jumped to static and back. "But... alright, if you feel fine..." He let out a puff of air and ran his hand through his dark hair.

Calypso smiled and shook her head. "Silly, I'm  _okay_. Nothing's wrong. Trust me, I'm not one of your holograms... or am I?" She flashed an evil smile.

Leo sucked in his breath. "No..."

Calypso snorted. " _Of course not_ , you dummy. If I were a hologram, then I wouldn't be able to do this," She leaned over and pecked him on the lips.

"Actually, depending on-"

"Oh, never mind." Calypso smiled softly. "I just-"

And then she vanished completely.

Leo jumped to him feet and reached around the air where she previously sat. "Calypso! Wha- Where are you? What just-?"

With a pop, Hermes materialized in front of Leo, who screamed.

"Did you take her?" He demanded, his face heating up. Leo was both furious and afraid. "Where is she? Bring her back!"

Hermes looked sheepish. "I'm here to deliver a message from the Gods."

"Then spill it! What do they need?" Leo was nearly on the brink of tears. No, he would  _not_ cry, especially in front of a god.

Hermes in turn looked genuinley upset. He opened him mouth, closed it, and said, "They want her back on Olympus. I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guest demigods were fan-inserts!


	11. Chapter 11

Leo fell on his rear, speechless. He began gaping like a fish, trying to say… what? What could Leo possible say that would make the Gods bring Calypso back?

"N-n-no," he sputtered. "No! Why do they want her back on Olympus? Why now? What did she ever do?"

Hermes looked him straight in the eye this time. "Just as mortals aren't allowed to live up in Olympus, immortals aren't allowed to live down on Earth unless they are assigned there."

"Like… how she was assigned on Ogygia and Hercules at his pillars?"

"Exactly."

Leo got up, feeling crushed… well, even more crushed than before. "So she can't live down here anymore? And I can't visit her up there? I won't ever see her again!"

Hermes sighed. "That's the rules. I don't make them; I just follow them."

Leo's head perked up. "Wait… so what if I could change the rules, then?"

Hermes snorted. "You? Change Zeus' mind? Pah, forget it!"

"Well, then, maybe I can bend them? Maybe I can pull off a Hades/Persephone or something?" Leo asked defiantly.

The god pondered this. "Well, maybe I can bring you for a  _quick_  visit so you can talk to Zeus about it. Just try not to get killed."

Leo's mouth went dry. What was he thinking? He was going up to Olympus and telling the Supreme god that he was wrong! Only an idiot would directly disobey Zeus. Then again, Leo  _was_  an idiot to begin with- in the best kind of way, of course.

"Take me. I'll do what I can to get her back," he braved, holding his chin up.

Hermes chuckled. "Well, well, well. Won't Aphrodite just  _love_  this. I bet you she's listening in right now. Sure, I'll take you. Hope he doesn't pin this on me, now."

Before Leo could reply, they were zapped into the throne room on Olympus. Leo's dark eyes adjusted and found he was standing in front of a super-sized Yours Truly. Zeus' storm-grey eyes were sparking with electricity. Literally. Leo never felt much smaller, and that was saying something. He coughed in his fist.

"Lord Zeus, hi." Thankfully it didn't come out in a pathetic squeak. "So…. Can we, um, discuss a little something?"

"Why do you come?" Zeus' voice boomed, echoing throughout the throne room. The other eleven gods were on their thrones, watching the episode. Aphrodite just beamed like a love-struck schoolgirl. Pun intended.

"I come t-to," Leo cleared his throat again, but it was very nerve-wracking to talk with the big guy. And he was Jason's pop? Ugh. Then again, who was he to talk? "I come to ask for Calypso back."

"And why is that?"

Leo was embarrassed. "Um, well, because,"

"If she is nothing to you, then why risk your life to get her back?"

Leo's face went beet-red. "She isn't 'nothing' to me! I-I really like her and she's my friend and she's a lot of other people's friend too! So, bring her back!" He took a shaky breath. "Please."

Zeus's mouth twitched up. "So you say. But Hermes told you the rules.  _No unassigned immortals_  are allowed to live freely down in  _your_ world."

"Well... what if I'm not immortal?" A small voice squeaked.

Leo turned his face away from the supreme god's face and searched for the source of the voice. There, at the foot of Zeus' golden throne stood Calypso, glowing with a bright silver aura of immortality. Leo's heart speed up, his ears growing warm.

"What did you say?" demanded Zeus.

Calypso stood straighter. "I said, 'What if I'm not immortal?'" She kept her chin up high, determined. A challenge gleamed in her shining brown eyes.

Zeus bent down in his seat and tried to look at her more clearly. "And what do you mean by that?"

"If you can grant immortality, then why can't you take it away?"

"You want me to take away your immortality so you can live on Earth?"

"Yes, sir."

Leo stopped gaping and spoke up. "But, Calypso, this is a big deal! If you become immortal, then you'll be able to die."

Calypso walked forward next to Leo. "And that means I'll be able to grow older with you, too." She took his hand and faced Zeus. "I want you to make me mortal, please."

The other Olympians exchanged looks and whispers:

" _Is she allowed to do that?"_

" _What is she thinking?"_

" _Crazy girl. Foolish, just foolish!"_

" _Oh, how adorable! Young love!"_

"I think we need a vote," Zeus said. "Those in favor of removing her immortality?"

As time seemed to slow down, Leo's heart clenched. If the majority would agree, then…!

Aphrodite quickly raised her hand. So did Hermes, who shrugged, along with Apollo, Hera ("Oh well, I have no use for Leo anymore."), his father, Hephaestus, and Ares, who was egged on by Aphrodite. Artemis held her hand up and said, "A woman can make her own decisions, but I would prefer not for the sake of a male."

"Those against?" Zeus asked.

Dionysus, Poseidon, Athena, Demeter (who must have heard the "Hades/Persephone" comment- the kidnapping and loopholes concerning her daughter were clearly not forgotten), and Zeus himself, raised their hands. He counted the votes and scowled.

" _Ahem_ , Calypso's immortality is henceforth removed." He grumbled, not appreciating his authority questioned.

Leo and Calypso shared a glance, his heart pounding, and he saw her silver aura flicker then disappear completely.

"I'm sorry Calypso," he said.

Calypso smiled and shook her head. "There's nothing to apologize for, silly. I chose this myself." Her smile faltered for a second. "But, I want to see my dad first."

"You want to see Atlas?" Leo asked. "Are we allowed to?"

Zeus stood up and stared down at the couple. "I think you should be leaving now. I would blast you to bits if not for my siblings," he spat.

Hermes got up as well. "I'll take them away now. First stop," he looked at Calypso with a sad smile. "Atlas."

In a blinding white flash, Leo found himself on a mountain peak, Calypso's hand still entwined with his. A cool breeze played with their hair. He squeezed her hand then looked up.

Hermes was gone, but in front of them was a towering Titan. Calypso's father, Atlas, the one who held the sky. He heard about Percy and Annabeth's turn holding it up. They had gotten matching gray streaks in their hair, though Percy's had vanished last summer.

Calypso stepped forward and gazed upon her father's face, scrunched up with effort. His arms were raised upwards, holding a force obscured by the starry night, if it was even visible at all.

Her face was small and sad. "Hello, father," she called in a soft voice. Who knew if Atlas could hear anything in his state? But she continued anyways. "It's been… a long time. I've been on Ogygia, but for the past few months I've lived here, in America. I have an auto shop that I run with Leo, here."

Leo gave a small wave. "'Sup."

Calypso smiled a little. "Yeah, and I-" her voice cracked up now. "I'm not immortal anymore, so I guess you won't be able to see me again, though I wish you could. What I wouldn't give to see the sparkle in your eyes, I don't know." Calypso wiped away a tear with her free hand. Leo pulled her closer and held her tight. "But I just w-wanted to say goodbye. Or hello, or whatever."

Silent tears streamed down her face, and Leo kissed her on the cheek, then again on her lips.

"Um, bye," he told Atlas as politely as he could. "I'll take good care of her, don't you worry."

Just as quickly as before, in a flash they were back in the auto shop.

He let her go and together they walked up the back stairs. They sat on the couch and leaned into each other.

Calypso eventually stopped sniffing and said, "I'm sorry."

Leo smiled. "There's nothing to apologize for, just like you said."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Maybe Hades will let me visit again sometime when I'm dead."

Leo hugged her. "I'm sure he will. Try asking Nico or something. There'll be a nice home in Elysium saved just for us. But let's not talk about death. That's much too depressing."

Calypso let out a laugh. "Yeah, sorry. It's just… new for me."

"Well," Leo sighed. "I'm sure the others would want to hear about this. Imagine the look on their faces."

Calypso smiled again and pecked Leo lightly on the lips. "Mhm, okay. G'night…"

Before Calypso could get up from the couch, Leo reached out and wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her long brown hair.

"Thanks," he said in a whispered voice. "For everything. Before I met you, I felt like the seventh wheel."

Calypso put her arms around him. She smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke, just like always. "Thank you too, for helping me. Not just leaving Ogygia, but for helping me find out who I am."

It was simply pure bliss, and Leo could hold her like this forever.


End file.
